On tasks, knowledge, correlations, and dissociations: Comment on Perruchet and Amorim (1992).

Many studies have suggested that under some conditions sequence learning may be implicit and outside consciousness. Others suggest that a sequence can be learned with minimal involvement of attention when it contains unique associations between some elements. P. Perruchet and M. A. Amorim (see record 1992-37919-001) have recently questioned these suggestions and concluded on the basis of 3 experiments that consciousness is necessary for learning sequences and that unique associations may not be essential in learning with distraction. Several flaws in the arguments made by Perruchet and Amorim are outlined: They equated tasks with knowledge, assumed that correlations under some conditions preclude dissociations under many other conditions, and misinterpreted claims concerning unique associations in a sequence. It is claimed that the experiments and analyses conducted by Perruchet and Amorim are not diagnostic to these issues, and their conclusions are viewed as unwarranted. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Defining and measuring of attachment bonds: Comment on Kurdek (2009).

Kurdek’s (see record 2009-12106-001) study of dog owners raises a series of provocative questions about the nature of attachment bonds and whether dogs can serve as attachment figures for their owners. This commentary suggests that it is important to distinguish attachment from other types of affectional bonds that are motivated by caregiving, reproductive or affiliative concerns. It is suggested that preferences for attachment figures are best tested in situations involving danger and in situations in which preferences are not confounded with immediate physical proximity. Using these distinctions as a guide, this commentary concludes that although dog owners undoubtedly form affectional bonds with their pets, these bonds are more likely to meet criteria for caregiving rather than attachment bonds. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Educational psychology—past and future: Comment on Derry (1992).

In presenting her version of the future of educational psychology, S. J. Derry (see record 1993-15329-001) disagreed with several points in R. E. Mayer's (1992) analysis of its past. In particular, Derry questioned whether educational psychology has become unified under a cognitive approach, has shifted from artificial to more realistic learning situations, and can progress much further under a cognitive approach. In this response, the author briefly examines each of these 3 issues. Finally, the author reasserts his conclusion that educational psychology has been and will continue to be an exciting venue for shaping the dominant psychological theories of the day. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Splitting versus sharing focal attention: Comment on Castiello and Umiltà (1992).

A popular metaphor for visual attention is that of a spotlight that enhances perceptual processing within its beam. Many studies on the orienting of visual attention have addressed whether the beam is a unified structure or whether it can be split between noncontiguous locations in space. Although most of the evidence favors the unified model, U. Castiello and C. Umiltà (see record 1992-41663-001) claimed recently to have results that could most easily be accounted for by a model of visual attention in which resources can be allocated flexibly to independent locations in space. It is argued that Castiello and Umiltà used only indirect empirical evidence to support their position and that their results are not inconsistent with the unified model. Two studies are reported in which important aspects of Castiello and Umiltà's experiments were maintained and a probe procedure was implemented to assess directly if attention was split between 2 spatial locations or if a unified focus of attention was expanded to incorporate the 2 locations. The results clearly supported the latter position. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Accruing knowledge on the biological bases of aggression: Comment on Giancola (2000).

The author contends that research on the biological correlates of aggression and violence follows a predictable course. The executive functioning model proposed by P. R. Giancola (see record 2000-02949-013) is a logical outcome of this progression and underscores the relative maturity of knowledge accrual for the alcohol-aggression link compared with other bio-behavioral models of human aggression. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Relation between typical intellectual engagement and openness: Comment on Goff and Ackerman (1992).

M. Goff and P. L. Ackerman (see record 1993-13529-001) identified a personality trait that they called "typical intellectual engagement." Typical intellectual engagement represents a departure from the common conceptualization of intelligence as maximal performance, and a measure of the construct correlates with measures of crystallized intelligence but not with a measure of fluid intelligence. In this article, the relation between typical intellectual engagement and the personality trait of Openness is examined. In analyzing the relations between Typical Intellectual Engagement and variables in the ability, personality, and achievement domains, and between Openness and variables in the ability, personality and achievement domains, little support for a distinction between typical intellectual engagement and openness was found. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Initial recall, reminiscence, and hypermnesia: Comment on Madigan and O'Hara (1992).

S. Madigan and R. O'Hara (see record 1992-18645-001) analyzed data from repeated free-recall experiments and concluded that the rate of item recovery across tests was related to the level of recall performance on an initial free-recall test. The authors report a reanalysis of these data along with Monte Carlo simulations that indicate the measures used by Madigan and O'Hara may have inflated the magnitude of the relation between initial recall and item recovery. The results are discussed in terms of their implications for future research investigating reminiscence and hypermnesia. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Not evidence for separable controlled and automatic influences in artificial grammar learning: Comment on Higham, Vokey, and Pritchard (2000).

P. A. Higham, J. R. Vokey, and J. L. Pritchard (see record 2000-16324-006) claimed to provide evidence for separable controlled and automatic processes in artificial grammar learning. It is argued that their results are compatible with a single controlled influence: Participants might mistakenly identify more grammatical items than nongrammmatical items as belonging to the other grammar, because the grammars are very similar to each other, and the nongrammatical items are relatively highly dissimilar. Participants' knowledge may be ambiguous, rather than automatic. It is further argued that even if Higham et al's data do support automatic effects, opposition logic, in this case, cannot be said to have succeeded where dissociation logic has failed, because it is used to address the issue of whether participants have conscious control over the knowledge they acquire, rather than whether they possess conscious awareness of that knowledge. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Dissociation in a serial response time task using a recognition measure: Comment on Perruchet and Amorim (1992).

Previous studies have shown a dissociation of implicit and explicit knowledge of a repeating sequence in a perceptuomotor skill developed by M. J. Nissen and P. Bullemer (1987). P. Perruchet and M. A. Amorim (1992) raised the concern that the dissociation was an artifact of the cued-recall task used to assess explicit knowledge and reported high correlations between implicit and explicit memory (as assessed by recall and recognition). An experiment is reported that addresses their concerns about the explicit test in which the authors found evidence that supports the dissociation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Reassessing working memory: Comment on Just and Carpenter (1992) and Waters and Caplan (1996).

M. A. Just and P. A. Carpenter's (1992) capacity theory of comprehension posits a linguistic working memory functionally separated from the representation of linguistic knowledge. G. S. Waters and D. Caplan's (1996) critique of this approach retained the notion of a separate working memory. In this article, the authors present an alternative account motivated by a connectionist approach to language comprehension. In their view, processing capacity emerges from network architecture and experience and is not a primitive that can vary independently. Individual differences in comprehension do not stem from variations in a separate working memory capacity; instead they emerge from an interaction of biological factors and language experience. This alternative is argued to provide a superior account of comprehension results previously attributed to a separate working memory capacity. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Social cognitive analysis of recovery from a lapse after smoking cessation: Comment on Haaga and Stewart (1992).

D. A. Haaga and B. L. Stewart have reported an interesting relation between perceived self-efficacy for the recovery of abstinence from smoking after an initial lapse and subsequent success in maintaining abstinence. Haaga and Stewart's article raises basic and important issues regarding the application of social cognitive theory to these complex and highly relevant phenomena. The present article identifies and addresses 3 such issues: (1) the distinctions between efficacy and outcome beliefs, (2) measurement of self-efficacy and outcome expectancies, and (3) specifications of explanatory models. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Ethical knowledge, language, and the unconscious: Reply to Orange (2000).

The author replies to D. Orange's (2000) appreciative response to his article by exploring the notion of dialogical praxis and the relationship between unconsciousness and language. The moral and ethical aspects of analytic theory and practice are suggested to be indispensable in the effort to reconceptualize along practical or pragmatic lines. The author also favors the idea that language enriches and, to an extent, transforms and creates human experience, a view that is based on an encompassing view of language. It is suggested that only by appreciating how analytic theory and practice are embedded within a larger cultural stream of values and meanings will it be possible to sort out the contributions and limitations of psychoanalysis in the search for a more decent society and a more fulfilling way of life. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment: Can clinical judgment hold its own against scientific knowledge? Comment on Zeldow (2009).

P. B. Zeldow (2009) presents a series of vignettes that make a compelling case for the role of clinical judgment and for the claim that the knowledge of a credentialed practitioner stand up against the credentialed knowledge of scientific research. This comment discusses how the dispute between scientific knowledge and clinical judgment is not unique to psychotherapy but has been extensively discussed in other disciplines, especially medicine and education. Two models of science and practice are presented: a model based on Aristotle's (1999) distinction between techne and phronesis and H. L. Dreyfus and S. E. Dreyfus's (1986) five-stage model of skill acquisition. Both a scientific knowledge base and a model of clinical practice that value the judgment of the expert practitioner are necessary for psychology to be a learned profession. Nevertheless, the gap between science and practice may never be fully closed but will always have irresolvable conflicts that can only be contained. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comparison of the WAIS with its Mainland Chinese version: Comment on Ryan, Dai, and Paolo (1992).

A comparison between the original Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised for China (WAIS-RC) manual (Y. X. Gong, 1982, 1983) and statements made by J. J. Ryan, X. Dai, and A. N. Paolo (1992) in their article "Intersubset Scatter on the Mainland Chinese Version of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale" generated several concerns. These concerns pertain to inaccurate comparisons between "mean ranges" in the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale—Revised and the WAIS-RC, inconsistencies between the original WAIS-RC sample size and the WAIS-RC sample size reported by J. J. Ryan et al, questionable conclusions regarding the relation between the WAIS-RC "scatter decrease" as a function of years of education that ignore important cultural circumstances, and inappropriate generalizations of WAIS-RC results based on an urban sample that does not truly represent the entire Chinese population. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

AIDS and other forms of drug use: Comment on Zinberg, Shaffer, Kauffman, and Trainor (1992).

Comments on the article by N. E. Zinberg et al (see record 1992-36889-001) concerning the neglect of the substance abuse field by health care professionals. In addition to iv drug use, 2 other forms that are associated with HIV infection are crack cocaine use and nitrite use. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Preferences and anticipations of career counseling: Comment on Galassi, Crace, Martin, James, and Wallace (1992).

The study on client anticipations and preferences regarding career counseling by J. P. Galassi et al (see record 1992-17938-001) is criticized with respect to theoretical grounding, assessment format, data analysis, and interpretation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do recognition and priming index a unitary knowledge base? Comment on Shanks et al. (2003).

Whether sequence learning entails a single or multiple memory systems is a moot issue. Recently, D. R. Shanks, L. Wilkinson, and S. Channon (see record 2003-02055-007) advanced a single-system model that predicts a perfect correlation between true (i.e., error free) response time priming and recognition. The Shanks model is contrasted with a dual-process model that incorporates both response time priming and reportable sequence knowledge as predictors of recognition. The models were tested by applying confirmatory factor analysis to data obtained from a recognition test that was administered under both speed and accuracy conditions. The Shanks model accounted for the data in the speed condition, whereas the dual-process model provided a better fit in the accuracy condition. The results are compatible with the notion that cognitive processes were engaged differentially in recognition judgments under speed and accuracy conditions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on Turner (2000).

Field research like that of A. L. Turner (see record 2000-03669-001) has the potential to develop theory about coping and treatment processes. We discuss theoretical concepts from social support research, social comparison theory, and emotional processing models, which can help to understand what is happening in group-based interventions and to plan interventions that address the interface between socially supportive processes and individual differences in anxiety reactions. We discuss methodological approaches that can be used to assess how treatment effects are mediated and suggest settings where controlled evaluations are possible. Such research can enrich theory about group processes and build the effectiveness of group-based interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Comment on Natterson (2003).

The author views J. M. Natterson's (2003) article as a return to Freud's emphasis on the centrality of love in psychoanalysis freshly conceptualized within a contemporary intersubjective perspective. Natterson's definition of love is viewed by the author as consisting of 3 independent components (attachment, recognition, and mutuality) that may harmonize or conflict. The author notes the rarity of Natterson's intimate disclosure of the specifics of his own subjectivity to the reader, and their value in advancing the understanding of psychoanalytic process and theory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Treatment of violent juvenile offenders—we have the knowledge: Comment on Gorman-Smith et al. (1996).

On the basis of research by D. Gorman-Smith, P. H. Tolan, A. Zelli, and L. R. Huesmann (see record 83:27124) and many others, a reasonable consensus has been achieved regarding the concurrent correlates of criminal behavior in adolescents. Moreover, it is known that when these correlates are addressed through a well-specified, ecological treatment model that emphasizes the delivery of flexible, individualized, and comprehensive empirically based services to youths and their families, rates of serious juvenile offending are decreased. Yet, prevailing mental health and juvenile justice services rarely attend to the known determinants of serious antisocial behavior and, in fact, provide interventions that are expensive and likely exacerbate the problem. The challenge is both to develop and validate ecologically based treatment models and to advocate for the myriad needs of serious juvenile offenders and their families. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)